Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 94915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 475(@200wpm)___ 380(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
“You know I’ll basically do whatever you want right now, right?”
“And I am not above using that power for evil. Spill the details, please.”
I give her the sanitized version of events. Well, mostly sanitized—I don’t know how I could possibly clean it up all the way. When I’m done, Kim’s grinning like a crazy person.
“I knew you were into him.”
“I still don’t get where this approval is coming from.”
“You’re married to the guy, right? You’ve been through so much, I just feel like you should at least have a little fun.”
“I can’t,” I tell her, shaking my head. “The first time was a mistake. I don’t even like the guy.”
“You don’t need to like him to bang him. Might even be better if you hate him a little bit.”
“You’re twisted, you realize that?”
“It’s just my nature, girl.”
“I mean it though. What happened last night was a one-time thing. It was a dumb, emotional decision, and I’m not going to put us both through that stupidity ever again.”
She gives me a flat stare and shakes her head. “There is seriously something wrong with you.”
“What?” I sit back, a little hurt. I thought I was being really mature, but she’s acting like I just threatened to stab her in the guts. “Explain how I’m in the wrong here.”
“You basically have a free pass with Mr. French Dick and you’re doing everything in your power to avoid using it. That’s like sacrilege. What’s it like, by the way?”
I’m a little thrown and exasperated by that, and I don’t want to ask, but I ask anyway. “What’s what like?”
“The French Dick. Big? Thick? No, wait, let me guess. He curves to the left?”
“He’s big,” I say, cheeks burning. “Really big. But who cares? It’s just not happening.”
“I care! I wish I could have some big dick right about now!”
The nurse chooses that exact moment to come into the room. She’s an older woman in her sixties with streaks of gray in her hair and tired eyes. I stare at her, my mouth hanging open, and even Kim has the grace to look mortified.
But the nurse only bustles around and gives Kim her next dose. Before she leaves though, she pauses at the foot of the bed and writes something in the chart. “I could use some big dick too, you know,” she says with a wistful sigh.
Kim and I laugh really, really hard for a while after that.
The drugs kick in pretty fast. Kim goes loopy and forgets all about our conversation, which is a blessing in disguise. I’m glad she’s not in pain anymore and I don’t have to talk about last night, but I hate how glassy she seems, like she’s in there but buried underneath the opioids.
I wish I could give her better news. A part of me is so sick and twisted that I’m tempted to fuck Julien just so I can tell Kim all about it. I mean, she’d love that, right? And I sort of owe her on account of the shattered pelvis.
But I’m not going to sleep with my husband just because I feel guilty about my injured friend.
Julien’s off limits, hard stop.
Chapter 21
Julien
It’s another warm summer evening. My BMW’s parked in the shadows of some big, mature trees down the block from an old car repair facility. The garage is closed now and weeds are growing in the cracks in the pavement out front, but there’s a fence around the property with barbed wire that looks brand new and a good, heavy chain on the rolling gate that blocks the driveway.
I check the time. Ten to two. I send Jean a quick message in French, telling him to get prepped. He responds with an OK, and I settle in to wait.
This is the worst part of every operation. My mind’s filled with a dozen different ways this can go wrong: it might be a trap, or we might underestimate the number of guards on the other side, or we could have the wrong location and that Serbian fuck lied to me with his final breath.
But those are all normal worries.
These days, I have extra special new problems to obsess about.
Like Brianne. She’s been at the hospital all day, from the moment visiting hours began to the moment they ended. Even though Kim’s been sleeping on and off for most of that time, she refuses to leave her friend’s side.
It’s admirable, but when I went to check on her, I could tell the strain was going to be too much.
I’ll have to do something about that. There might be a good home care option for Kim—whatever it costs, I’ll make it happen. I understand there will be physical therapy, lots of drugs, lots of healing. My wife doesn’t have to ask, we’ll take care of it all.
It’s the least I can do.